MINA SMITH, WRITER & CREATOR

How did a game about collecting cats become the biggest app for cell phones since Flappy Bird?

Neko Atsume (ねこあつめ), Japanese for Cat Collection, is exactly what it sounds like. Using fish as currency, you purchase food and toys for the strays in your neighborhood. Laying out certain types of toys in combination with certain types of food will draw in different cats. Each cat leaves you presents (more dead fish) to buy more things to make your backyard even more attractive to even more cats.

It's a simple enough concept, so what makes it so attractive to players?

The Simplest of Terms:The game is quite simple to learn, easy to play, and takes only tiny amounts of time. Most of the game is laying the bait of progressively more interesting toys and expensive foods and waiting for the cats. It's the perfect quick game to play while waiting in line or in the elevator. The game's designer, Yutaka Takasaki, wanted a game that needed little skill or time to complete that could be played without difficulty by children.

It's Adorable:As simple as the concept is and as addictive as the premise might be, the game would be nothing without its adorable graphics. The cutesy, cartoon cats have big smiles and play contently with toys. They even on occasion cuddle with one another. Some of the rarer kitties are even named after famous people and have unique traits (Chairman Meow has a bowl on his head, reminiscent of the Mao hairstyle). The cats you collect can be photographed and admired, but will wander away as soon as there is no food to be had.

This adorable game is great for any age and is the kind of cute and innocent game that makes you want to keep playing. The game is free to play, but you can pay to get additional fish to feed your addiction. Since it's release in October 2014 in Japan, and its subsequent release in the US in October 2015, Neko Atsume has been downloaded more than 10 million times. With several recent expansions, you too can collect all 47 cats for the most adorable addiction you've even had.

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